60 Years Later: How Discrimination Has Changed In The US

In January 2013, Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of the Oregon bakery Sweet Cakes by Melissa, refused to provide a wedding cake to lesbian couple Lauren and Rachel Bowman-Cryer.

Aaron Klein reportedly told the couple “they do not do same-sex weddings,” and even quoted a verse from Leviticus, in which he referenced the Bowman-Cryer family as abominations.

This led the couple to file a consumer complaint with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Department of Justice.

In June 2015, Oregon labor commissioner Brad Avakian issued a final decision, holding that the bakery had committed unlawful discrimination.

The bakery owners were ordered to pay $135,000 in damages for emotional and mental suffering.

Under Oregon law, businesses cannot discriminate or refuse service based on sexual orientation, just as they cannot turn customers away because of race, sex, disability, age or religion. Avakian wrote:

“This case is not about a wedding cake or a marriage. It is about a business’s refusal to serve someone because of their sexual orientation. Under Oregon Law, that is illegal.”

This is the latest in a string of incidents where business owners, including photographers, restaurants, florists and bakeries have refused to provide services for same-sex weddings, claiming to be exercising religious freedom.

On the other hand, supporters of the same-sex couples see the religious freedom argument as little more than a demand for "tolerance" of the business owners right to be intolerant.

Gay rights activists and supporters compare these incidents to the segregation and the civil rights movement of the mid-1900s.

With this December marking the 60-year anniversary of when Rosa Parks was denied a seat in the front of a bus, it's hard to ignore some strong similarities.

In both cases, a public service was denied because of prejudices held against a person, and although one instance involved race and the other sexual orientation, the results are the same.

People are left alienated and forced to stand up for their equal treatment.

But. these are not the only examples of individuals being denied a right or public service due to their background, beliefs, physical characteristics or lifestyle.

Here are some other examples of severe intolerance in the lives of everyday Americans:

The Right To Go To A Restaurant

For many years, complaints had been made against Kung Fu Saloon, a Texas-based chain of martial-arts themed restaurants.

It was discovered that management had been training their employees to limit the number of “ghetto-sounding” black people and thick-accented Asian customers it allowed in its restaurants.

In one instance, patron DeAndré Upshaw was allegedly refused entry because he was wearing Converse All-Stars, even though moments earlier, his white friend had been wearing the same shoes and was allowed entry.

A complaint was filed by the US Department of Justice stating that the chain's employees had been discriminating against customers since 2011.

It also requires businesses to allow people with service dogs inside. Starbucks offered Kaplan an apology after the incident.

The Right To Use The Restroom

Transgender military veteran and civilian software specialist, Tamara Lusardi, informed her employer of her identification, and began transitioning from male to female in 2010.

Although she had already legally changed her name and gender, her employer required her to continue using a separate bathroom until she underwent reassignment surgery.

Lusardi filed a complaint and the US Office of Special Counsel held that Lusardi had been subject to discriminatory harassment on the basis of her gender identity, and she should have been allowed to use the women’s restroom.

The Right To Have Your Car Repaired

Under Michigan’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, this refusal is legal.

Similar to the Memories Pizza Shop in Indiana, which refused to provide pizza catering for a gay couple’s wedding, a GoFundMe.com page was started to support Dieseltec.

Only $5 was donated, and that was from a woman in a same-sex marriage who asked, “Will you except my money, or is it to gay for you?”

The campaign page has since been taken down.

The Right To Receive Treatment

Cardinal Innovations, a North Carolina agency that dispenses state and federal Medicaid dollars in 15 counties in the state, enacted a policy in 2013 stating it will not reimburse undocumented immigrants for mental health care.

Critics of the decision argue that federal law requires healthcare be offered to all, regardless of citizenship.

Those in favor of giving undocumented immigrants Medicaid claim their need for mental healthcare is greater than usual, given ongoing anxiety, fears of deportation and vulnerability.

The Right To Protection

In June 2014, a Utah policeman refused to be one of the guards for the gay pride parade that happened over the course of a weekend in Salt Lake City, citing his religious principles.

Slate writer Mark Joseph Stern questioned whether a police officer can refuse to protect demonstrators whom he or she happens to dislike, and whether swearing to protect the public only really means some of the public.

The Right To Get Gas

In 2014, an Israeli woman who had been residing in Coral Springs, FL for at least 15 years was refused service by a Palestinian employee at a South Florida gas station.